Marlins Stadium Vote Delayed to Jan. 22

I'll have MUCH more to say about the subject of a Marlins stadium in the next few days.
Until then, please also see The Miami News Today's excellent editorial, Don't sign blank check now for incomplete stadium at
http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/080104/story-viewpoint.shtml

The proposed agenda and particulars are available in the County's pdf files below the articles.
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www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/miami/sfl-flb3bdigest01090sbjan09,0,5289072.story

South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Miami-Dade commission to delay vote on new Marlins ballpark
January 9, 2008

Miami-Dade County commissioners will again delay a vote on a financing plan for a Florida Marlins ballpark Thursday, as county, city of Miami, team and Major League Baseball officials continue to hammer out the agreement.
Commissioners delayed a vote last month to give the sides more time to negotiate a plan for a $525 million ballpark at the site of the Orange Bowl. County Manager George Burgess plans to update commissioners on negotiations Thursday.
Commission Chairman Bruno Barreiro said he will recommend the item be deferred until the commission's Jan. 22 meeting "so everyone can have enough time to review and analyze the whole package because even if it gets ready by Thursday, there definitely won't be enough time to review it," Barreiro said.

Copyright © 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/371598.html
Miami Herald
Vote on stadium financing to be deferred
By Charles Rabin
January 8, 2008

A vote set for Thursday to approve a financing plan for a new Florida Marlins baseball stadium will be deferred, as the team, city and county labor to reach consensus on the fine print of the proposed $525 million Little Havana ballpark.
County Manager George Burgess told commission aides Tuesday that the three entities need more time to iron out several differences in the plan made public only last month. Burgess declined comment.
Betty Gutierrez, legislative aide to County Commission Chairman Bruno Barreiro, said Burgess conveyed that the administration was not yet ready to move forward.
''My understanding is it's not so much the numbers -- they're all just trying to work out technicalities,'' Barreiro said.
He said his commission colleagues deserve time to review any agreement, so he will move the item to Jan. 22.
County Mayoral Spokeswoman Vicki Mallette confirmed the administration wished to delay a vote by two weeks, saying "negotiations are continuing.''
This will be the second time a vote on the financing has been deferred.
Under the proposal, the Marlins would pay $155 million up front, and the county and city would contribute $249 million and $121 million, respectively.
The funding plan is one part of a multibillion dollar agreement between the city and county that would also finance a port tunnel and a park for the proposed museums at Bicentennial Park. The agreement would also cover construction costs of almost one-half billion dollars for the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts.
Car mogul Norman Braman began airing radio announcements in both English and Spanish this week, urging residents to push commissioners to vote against the plan for the ballpark and the downtown redevelopment.
The ads focus on money gained from extending and expanding Miami's Community Redevelopment Agency -- the linchpin to creating the money needed for the development deal -- as investments that should be directed to the poor.

Reader comments on this article are at:
http://pod01.prospero.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?msg=27691&nav=messages&webtag=kr-miamitm
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http://www.miamidade.gov/govaction/commagenda.asp?cmbmeetdate=2441&file=true&changes=false

Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners Agenda
PRELIMINARY Version
Thursday, January 10, 2008
As Advertised
Commission Chambers

11A26

073648
Resolution
Bruno A. Barreiro

RESOLUTION REQUESTING MAYOR OR HIS DESIGNEE TO NEGOTIATE AND FINALIZE BASEBALL STADIUM AGREEMENT BY AND AMONG COUNTY, CITY OF MIAMI AND FLORIDA MARLINS, LP, RELATED TO DEVELOPMENT OF NEW BALLPARK FOR FLORIDA MARLINS, SUBJECT TO SUBSEQUENT BOARD APPROVAL; AND REAFFIRMING COMMITMENT TO PLEDGE PORTION OF PROJECTED AVAILABLE CONVENTION DEVELOPMENT TAX AND PROFESSIONAL SPORTS FRANCHISE FACILITIES TAX RECEIPTS FOR DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION OF SUCH BALLPARK

PDF

12/18/2007
Carried over by BCC

12/20/2007
Deferred by BCC Passed 13 - 0

11A26 SUPPLEMENT

073661
Supplement

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION RE: FLORIDA MARLINS BALLPARK PROJECT

PDF

12/18/2007
Carried over by BCC


12/20/2007
Deferred by BCC Passed 13 - 0

Manny Diaz NOT on C-SPAN; Jimmy Smits filming CANE

Well, after I mentioned it in this space yesterday -as well as in FYI emails to some media folks who are less frequent visitors to this site- that City of Miami mayor Manny Diaz was a likely guest on C-SPAN's Washington Journal this morning, as their series on American cities made its way to Miami, guess who was a no-show?
This, after I had the VCR nice and warmed up with a new videotape, ready to record what I was sure would prove to be some lively TV, as national callers asked the sort of odd and probing questions that would likely prove to be either insightful or evidence of regional bias.

Whether this was because of prior commitments on the part of the mayor -perhaps prepping for the joint meeting with Miami-Dade County mayor Carlos Alvarez and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig- or because C-SPAN simply wanted to spend more time dealing with viewer comments on AG Gonzales's resignation, I can't say.

Instead of the the multiple hours that Dallas received on Sunday morning and Detroit received Monday, Miami was short-changed, though represented -quite thoughtfully I thought- by Andy Gomez, a Senior Fellow at the University of Miami's Institute for Cuban & Cuban-American Studies, http://www6.miami.edu/iccas/ and by Gepsie M. Metellus of the Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center, http://www.santla.org/

They were given a grand total of 48 minutes to discuss their personal perspective of the Cuban and Haitian experience in South Florida and answer caller questions, many of which were quite hostile. http://inside.c-spanarchives.org:8080/cspan/cspan.csp?command=dprogram&record=556586599

Actor Jimmy Smits films scenes for his upcoming CBS-TV show CANE at Dolphin Stadium
August 12, 2007 photo by SouthBeachHoosier

I've been meaning to post this for a bit: One of the ways that people amused themselves on a sweltering Saturday night at the Dolphins-Jaguars preseason game two Saturdays ago at Dolphin Stadium -aka the former Joe Robbie Stadium- was gawking and squealing at actor Jimmy Smits as he went through his paces taping some segments for his upcoming CBS-TV show, CANE, set to air Tuesday nights at 10 p.m., and premiering on Sept. 25th
(See official CBS-TV website http://www.cbs.com/primetime/cane/ or IMDb.com's entry at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0955250/ ).

The show has looked great in the trailers I've seen so far, one of which was run on the giant screens above the end zones before taping began, which is where the above photo was snapped. There were two segments that were taped. The first was of Jimmy's character, Alex Duque -and actor Samuel Carman, who plays his young son Artie- being escorted by City of Miami mayor Manny Diaz towards mid-field to deliver a pre-game speech regarding "Hispanic Heritage Week" or something similar-sounding.

Frankly, his character's speech seemed a bit longwinded to me, suggesting -to me at least- the possibility that the producers were consciously going against the audience's preconceptions for this particular character, by showing that his character is someone who, while a smooth operator behind the scenes, is, perhaps, like many successful people, somewhat awkward in public settings or afraid of public speaking.
This would be a nice counterpoint to the usual suave and articulate characters Jimmy has long played in the past, who never lose their cool and who always say just the right thing.

A later sequence filmed was of him and TV son Samuel Carman and Mayor Diaz walking out towards the middle of the field for the pre-game coin-toss, with a few well-known Dolphin alumni in their Dolphin jackets standing nearby, at least one of whom I believe was Dick Anderson. (Dick's horrific injury during the 1975 Pro Bowl game at the Orange Bowl happened right in front of me, producing a very sick feeling in yours truly since it was SO clearly a bad injury!)

Among the better combination of stories and photos I've found about the new show are:
Cane" Is Anything But Sweet
http://content.meevee.com/?q=node/fullstory/7056

For those of you who want a better photo of the stadium itself, as well as the Orange Bowl, see this North Carolina State Wolf Pack sports site, in a series of posts regarding the Hurricanes leaving the Orange Bowl for Chez Huizenga.
http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=491076&page=1

Miami to be focus of C-SPAN's Washington Journal Tuesday morning

C-SPAN's look at American cities and their unique set of problems and prospects will extend south to Miami on Tuesday morning, with Miami mayor Manny Diaz slated to be on for at least a half-hour or so, and taking call-in questions from around the nation if the first two shows in this series -on Dallas and Detroit- are any guide.

As of Monday night at 6:30 p.m., the C-SPAN website is still not showing who the other two likely guests will be to give the country a nuanced look at the Magic City.
Get your VCRs, TiVos and DVRs warmed-up!

U-M President Donna Shalala on move from Orange Bowl

My nephew Mario, who starts his Junior year at the U-M today, thoughtfully sent me this copy of the email that everyone in Hurricane Nation received yesterday about the decision to leave the Orange Bowl for Dolphin Stadium starting next year.
Obviously the U-M letterhead was on the top of the letter, but otherwise it's exactly as it appears in the original letter.
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Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 11:09:12 -0400
From: umcommunications@MIAMI.EDU
Subject: A Message from President Shalala

If you have problems reading this, visit http://www.miami.edu/president/dialogue/dialogue_08_21_07.html.

August 21, 2007
To the University Community:
We have an extraordinary history and tradition at the Orange Bowl: The players running through the smoke tunnel. “Touchdown Tommy” and his cannon. The Ring of Honor. An incredible winning streak of 58 consecutive home wins. And three of our five national championships were won on that field. I love the Orange Bowl—we all do!
As many of you are aware, the University has been working closely with the City of Miami to assess the feasibility of making much-needed renovations to the Orange Bowl. It has long been our goal to have a first-class football stadium.The City of Miami has been a wonderful partner with us at the Orange Bowl for many years, and they understand how hard we have wrestled with a very difficult decision. Mayor Manny Diaz has been heroic in his efforts to meet our future needs. After much thought, analysis, and discussions with many, many of our trustees, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and fans, we have concluded that we must move our football games to a better facility. The more than $200 million in renovations that the city has proposed would only provide basic and mostly infrastructural upgrades. A part of those funds are not in hand and may or may not be determined until after the proposed construction would be well underway. Overall, the renovations clearly would not address the long-term needs of our athletes and our fans.
The Orange Bowl chapter of our history—in which we can all take great pride—will never close, and we are confident that the legacy of Miami Hurricanes football will live on and thrive as we move to a new location. After an assessment of all options available to us, we have decided reluctantly and painfully to move to Dolphin Stadium for the 2008 season.
Dolphin Stadium is one of the premier football stadiums in the country. At our new home, our student-athletes will have the opportunity to compete in a first-class facility that plays host to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, the FedEx Orange Bowl, BCS National Championship Game, and that has been the site of recent and upcoming Super Bowls.
Our fans will experience outstanding amenities including one of the world’s largest plasma TV displays, high-definition video boards, club seating and suites, chairbacks on every stadium seat, approximately 14,000 parking spaces, and a large variety of concessions and restaurants.The end zones will be redone so that our shared home will reflect both Miami teams’ pride. The Dolphins are actively pursuing a corporate sponsor so that by 2010 the stadium will have a neutral name.
I want to assure all members of our University community—students, faculty, staff, alumni, trustees, donors, friends—and the tens of thousands of fans who regularly cheer us on, that we looked exhaustively into every aspect of the choices in front of us, and that your needs figured prominently in our final decision. The quality of your experience at our games is of the utmost importance to us.
As always, we would like to hear from you. Please contact us at an e-mail address we have established for your comments: umfootball@miami.edu. If you have any further questions, please go to the Official Athletic Department Web site at hurricanesports.com or call
1-800-GO-CANES.

Thank you, and Go ’Canes!
Sincerely,
Donna E. Shalala

Office of the President
P.O. Box 248006 Coral Gables, Florida 33124-4600
305-284-5155
Fax 305-284-3768

Draft of Miami 21 now online, in advance of first reading on June 28

Just got this email about more info being available online now for all you armchair urban policy experts to peruse from the comfort of your home, and not spend time poring over docs in some govt. bldg. with bad A/C or parking -or both.
Remember, tomorrow, Thursday will be the "City of Miami Commissioner's Workshop" on this subject, so you can do some reconnaissance in advance of next week's meeting and see who on the Commission has done their homework and is really following what's being done -and who hasn't- as well as watch and take plenty of copious notes.
Just don't expect anyone to be handing you a microphone to ask one of your trademark penetrating, three-part questions, wherein you bring up the fact where you went to college again, even though it isn't relevant. Ivy Leaguers, this means you!

Date: June 21, 2007 Time: 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
The City of Miami Commission will hold a workshop to discuss the enactment of Miami 21.

Found this link on the Miami 21 page with archived articles on the subject, pro and con:
http://www.miami21.org/index.php?submenu=mediapartners&src=news&persist_cat=1&srctype=lister&newssearch=yes&kw=
The aforementioned email from Miami 21 HQ today read:

Updated Miami 21 Draft is Available Online

Please visit www.Miami21.org for the latest Miami 21 Draft which was posted today. For your convenience, we have included an amendments file which indicates all changes taking place from the original Miami 21 Draft (March 16, 2007) to the present Miami 21 Draft (June 20, 2007).

As always, we thank you for your continued participation in the Miami 21 process and encourage your questions and/or comments pertaining to Miami 21.

Quick Links...
Miami 21 Website
Miami 21 Draft-June 20, 2007
Amendments from Original Draft
Upcoming Meetings

Contact Information
phone: Miami 21 Hotline (305) 416-2121
fax: (305) 400-5400
email: info@miami21.org

Mailing Address:PO BOX 330708 Miami, FL. 33233

First reading for Miami 21 is Thurs. 6/28 before City of Miami Commissioners

Just received this email. Make your plans accordingly!

http://www.miami21.org/
_________________________
City of Miami Commission Meeting
Quick Link Miami 21

The first reading for Miami 21 is scheduled for Thursday, June 28. This item will be considered by City of Miami Commissioners for a vote.

City of Miami Commission Meeting

Miami 21, Your City, Your Plan
DATE: Thursday, June 28th
TIME: 9:00AM
LOCATION: Miami City Hall 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, FL. 33133
MORE: (305) 416-2121 or http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=hprjfbcab.0.yzd6b9bab.6sxkakbab.746&ts=S0252&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.miami21.org%2F
Miami 21 Team
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"Jobs, Taxes Will Ride on Rapid Transit" Charles Whited, Miami Herald March 18, 1979

Last Thursday morning, I had the rare satisfaction that comes from using your foresight wisely, and was at just THE right time at just the right place.

In my case, I'd made it my business to be at the immigration forum sponsored by the Miami-Dade County Hispanic Advisory Board, which was held at the U-M's Bank United Center, in the Cane 100 Room, on the north side of the arena, not far from the court itself.

It was the first time I'd ever been at the arena, having last been around anything involving the U-M and roundball in the late '80's, when during a Christmas visit from D.C., I saw the 'Canes host the Gators at the Knight Center downtown with my then-brother-in-law, Mario.

Maybe it was because everyone else there knew what to expect and acted so blase, but I have to admit now that I was a little perplexed and thrown off-balance once we got in.

It seemed like we were watching a play or tennis match, since, due to the way the U-M basketball court was set-up, all the fans were on the same side of the court.

(That's definitely something that wouldn't have been safe for an IU-Purdue game, no matter how Purdue or the Hoosiers were, whether at home at Assembley Hall or even up Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, which is raised off the ground, like Vanderbilt's old court.

But it was was what "the U" had at the time, and I had a pretty good time, knowing it was far from what I'd been used to seeing from up-close in Bloomington.)

I'll have some posts soon on the forum itself and what I thought of the proceeding, but today, I wanted to share the first in as series of "golden" newspaper articles I dug up out of the Herald archives from the main Miami-Dade Library downtown's Florida room and that neverending insult to technology, microfilm machines.

I'd originally gone in to the library while waiting for the #93 Biscayne Max to whisk me back up towards the Aventura Mall, without the craziness of the 1,001 stops.

But two 93s in a row broke down, and I was getting pissed off as it looked like it was going to rain and I'd have to fight for space under cover with the crowd the Herald just discovered in their story on the horrendous state of downtown Miami.

I decided to make some good use of my time and try to track down some Herald photos from the late '70's of the All-Dade Gymnastics team, most of whom were friends or friends of friends, with one photo in particular in mind.

That was the one I had right near my dorm desk at Briscoe Quad my first two years at IU -the entire All-Dade team on a kid's playground apparatus.

It sounds dopey beyond belief, but it was cleverly executed by the Herald photographer.

Well, apparently, despite the fact that Doritos continues to be the snack choice of millions daily, Frito-Lay continues to tinker with them so they can be new and improved, something that can't be said for microfilm machines, with their blotchy screens, our link to the Guttenberg Bible, where you take your chances with being able to read something onscreen, much less print it correctly and have it not be all helter-skelter.

The first nugget I found and have placed here -thanks to the great guys at Transit Miami www.transitmiami.com ,for giving South Beach Hoosier some nice pub recently for the Macy's vs. Marshall Fields business, and my sense of how apathetic South Florida was about the name change- was from longtime Herald columnist Charles Whited on the upcoming rapid transit system in Miami!

Well, I rode the Metro for the first time in about 15 years -don't forget, I was in DC from1988-2003, using the DC Metro just about everyday- on the way from Government Center to University Station, opposite the Bank United Center.

I took note of fact that according to the information downtown, the northern route that will link the former Joe Robbie Stadium to the rest of the system will be operating in 2013, so I'll have some posts in a day or two on how that might effect Donna Shalala & Company's
impending decision in Coral Gables on moving U-M home games from the Orange Bowl to the former-JRS.

Frankly, I haven't seen anyone else mention this fact yet with regard to the decision, so if you have, please send me a link to the source, since I think it's an important aspect of the debate.

As time allows, I'll try to retype Mr. Whited's column here in case you can't read it easily from the attachment above, but suffice to say, if we only knew then what we know now...